Professor A.E. (Freddie) Wood

A cardiothoracic surgeon, Professor A.E. (Freddie) Wood graduated from UCD before completing postgraduate training with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

He pioneered heart transplantation with the late Maurice Neligan in addition to complex congenital heart surgery and reparative valve surgery. In 1993 he set up the National Homograft Valve Bank. From 1999 to 2010 he served as Director of Heart & Lung Transplantation at the Mater Hospital and was pivotal in setting up the Lung Transplantation Programme in 2001 culminating in successful lung transplantation in 2005. He began the Artificial Heart Programme in 2005 and laid the foundation for the successful introduction of ECLS (extracorporeal life support) /ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) in Our Lady's Children's Hospital and the Mater Hospital.

Prof Wood has a long standing interest in postgraduate training and is a past member of the Intercollegiate Board in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He was a member of the Executive of the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland for a decade. He has been a member of Council of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland since 2000 and became the first Chairman of Governance in 2008. He has also chaired the Finance Committee.

He retired from the Mater and Our Lady's Children’s Hospitals in autumn 2010. Between 2011 and 2013, he was appointed Consultant Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon in Congenital Heart Disease to the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast to direct, manage, mentor and provide surgery whilst solution for its provision was finalized.

He is President of the Medical Council for its term from June 2013-2018.